Thursday, May 17, 2007

The Farmer in the Dell, The Farmer in the Dell, All Praise the Farmer in the Dell!

The amazing success of Dell computers seems contrary to many of today's business trends. In a field where innovation is key, and being "the first" to introduce new technology into a market appears to be crucial for success, Dell managed to reign supreme by doing exactly the opposite. Instead of spending large amounts of money toward product development, Dell allocated only 10% of its revenues for research and development, while competitors such as Gateway, Compaq, HP, and Cisco budgeted between 20-45% of their revenues for research and development (Hartley, 2005). Dell patiently waited for its competitors to spend their money and time in product development, and would scoop up the "new" technology only after it entered a market. Not only was Dell able to save on R&D, but it could offer the "new" technology at lower prices. Apparently many consumers were more than willing to wait for the less expensive Dell versions to become available rather than buying the newest innovations right away.

The second important way that Dell saved money was in the production process. Dell was vigilant in continually streamlining the production process, making sure production details were communicated, and using machines and computers whenever possible, thereby reducing costs associated with employees (Hartley, 2005).

These cost saving measures on the production side, as well as being the first computer company to offer direct sales to consumers, saving greatly in the process, has kept Dell a leader in the computer sales market.

Today, Dell is still striving to provide consumers with the least expensive computers possible. Dell's latest move has been to announce that they will be offering Linux, the free open-source operating system, rather than Microsoft's Windows, as an option during the customization process (Zachary, 5/16/2007). Dell is also leading the way in the rapidly developing country of India, where it is already one of the fastest growing companies. In fact, Dell's plan is to target the Educational, Governmental, and Public Sectors (ITVar News, 5/17/2007). Dell is once again positioning itself to outdo its competition, especially now that Michael Dell has returned to the helm.

Sources:

Hartley, Robert F. 2005. Management Mistakes and Successes. Eighth edition.
Hoboken, NY. John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Dell Aims for Government Business. May 17, 2007. IT Varns News Online. Reference URL: http://www.itvarnews.net/news/journal_comments.asp?JournalID=4746&
PagePosition=1&sTitle=Dell%20aims%20for%20government%20business

Zachary, Daniel. May 16, 2007. Dell Backs Open Source Operating System.
City on a Hill Press Online. Reference URL: http://www.cityonahillpress.com/article.php?id=650


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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can never understand the popularity of Dell... I think a lot of it stems from oversaturation advertising, there is just so many ads for Dell that that is the name that just pops to mind by most people. Eveyone I know who has bought a Dell has had numerous problems with it, yes they have a warranty and yes they send it back to get fixed, but the problems were there and really shouldn't have been. A friend of mine recently bought a new Dell, this was two eyars ago actually, it was his second Dell laptop, the first was nothing but problems but he still bought another one. I tried to talk him into buying another brand but it was the warranty that sold him, he said yes his last computer had numerous problems but they were all fixed by Dell. So even if he knew, and expected to have problems he still bought it because he knew the company was popular and he knew the company would fix the problems... I don't know but I wouldn't buy a computer again from a company where I had to send it back numerous times to be 'fixed' even if they fixed it for me every time....

Speak Sexy said...

Hmm, I've never owned a Dell, or knew anyone who owned a Dell for that matter, so I don't have any stories good or bad. I agree I would never buy a computer knowing I would have to return it so that the company could fix the problems...even if it was for free. Why go through that when you could just buy a perfect Gateway? (Like mine!) ;)

I just know when it comes to manufacturing Dell always finds a way to have the edge.

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